After a new agreement between the National Basketball Players Association and NBA, players will receive a $2.5 million insurance benefit in the event of a career-ending injury, sources told ESPN.
The NBPA had been pushing for a raise in the permanent disability policy that previously paid out approximately $312,000 in these cases. The insurance covers career-ending injuries sustained on and off the court, including complications caused by Covid-19, sources said.
The payment would be in addition to money owed on contracts and include all active players up to 35 years old, sources said.
The NBPA and NBA also agreed to continue keeping the force majeure withholding of players’ salaries to 25%, sources said.
The NBA had started to withhold 25% of remaining salary on May 15 and had a right to adjust that percentage based on number of resumed or canceled games left in the 2019-2020 season.
A final adjustment on the percentage of salary the league could reclaim based upon the force majeure clause in the collective bargaining agreement will come once the Basketball Related Income audit is completed later this summer. The players receive 51% of the BRI.
